Despite fashion’s frivolous nature, the tents in Bryant Park fill to capacity twice a year with hordes of magazine editors, upscale department store buyers, celebrities, socialites, and those who fall under no labels or too many to count. Also in attendance are people who have once graced the halls of Beaver with their noteworthy presence—namely Eliza Dushku, a Beaver mystery herself. All sharing the prerequisite of being well dressed, these people fly into New York or walk across the street to be part of the extravaganza that is Fashion Week, specifically, the semi-annual Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. First held in 1943 during the Second World War, its goal was to take the attention away from French fashion when traveling to France wasn’t possible for fashion journalists.
New York Fashion Week is very much like an art festival backed by German automotive sponsors. The designers are the artists, and the runways are the galleries on which the art is displayed for the world to see. As art is illegal to forge, the designer’s guild has worked hard to copyright their designs, but clothing and accessories are still copied and mass-produced in such stores as Century 21. The designs that came down on the runways on top models such as Coca Rocha and Agyness Deyn, however, were completely original creations.
Fall MMVIII (2008) fashion week began on February 1st and finished on February 8th. Over 100,000 guests were expected to attend, which included 3,000 of the worldwide press and fashion industry. Some lucky college students worked on the shows behind the scenes and as seat-fillers. One NYU student who volunteered at the Y-3 show described it as: “Great! I got stuck in the second row (VIP section), which was both terrifying and the coolest moment of my life!”
Whether or not you approve of the models’ weight, or even the consumer culture that the week represents, the spectacle of Fashion Week has become a tradition in cities worldwide. However, the Internet has made the exhibition of designs available to those who cannot make it to the tents in Bryant Park, which were decorated this year as Greco Roman “Temples of Fashion.” All the collections are available for your viewing pleasure on http://www.style.com/, as are front row and backstage pictures, including an appearance by the not-so-well-dressed Ms. Dushku. Stay tuned for collection highlights and the aftermath.
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Monday, March 3, 2008
NY Fashion Week
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Susan Cooper: Fantasy and Literature; Unriddling the World
Susan Cooper is the author of more than twenty books as well as plays, screenplays and poetry. She was born in Buckinghamshire, England, and went to Oxford where she studied under the great fantasy writers J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Lewis. She began writing as a reporter for London’s Sunday Times, where she worked under James Bond creator, Ian Fleming. She is best known for the books in the Dark is Rising series, which have received many literary awards since their publication in 1976. She now lives and writes by the sea in Massachusetts and comes to Cambridge to speak at forums.
The presentation by Susan Cooper and open discussion were the second of a two-part program presented by the Cambridge Forum, and were recorded for publication on NPR. The author’s talk was preceded by a musical introduction from two members of Revels (a Christmastime celebration that began in Cambridge). The songs correlated with the theme of the night: ‘Unriddling the world.’ While the songs were intriguing, the audience came to hear the author speak. For this reason, many felt that the singing went on a little too long. Not to mention, audience participation in the songs ruined any possible enjoyment. After the disturbingly off-key audience sing-a-long, Susan Cooper finally took the podium.
According to Cooper, humans have invented stories to make sense of the world throughout time. These stories take the form of creation myths and legends that explain the way the world works. She says that there are five myths that we try to ‘unriddle’: life, death, time, good and evil. These five myths are all present in Cooper’s stories, especially good and evil. However, her view on modern culture is somewhat cynical: people prefer facts to metaphors, and they have come to think that technology and science will explain all of life’s riddles. People generally are so rooted in linear time that they repel all fantasy in general.
Cooper’s theory involves her target audience. Her stories are not written specifically for children, she says, but publishers have put her books on the children’s lists because adults do not appreciate fantasy to its fullest. She says that children (specifically pre-adolescent) are more engrossed in the story, and allow themselves to be enveloped in the world of fantasy. This is because children are still looking to unriddle the five myths and feel scientific explanations leave much unanswered. Adults, however, are hardened by their experience in the real world and are less open to the mystical goings-on of the genre.
Mystical stories are more relevant to real-life than one would think. Cooper says that, in her books, the fictional quests to differentiate between good and evil often end up being accidental metaphors for the quest for adulthood and the struggles it entails. She says she “teaches without intending to.” Put simply, sex takes over the imagination beginning in adolescence because the quest of good versus evil is no longer as interesting to readers, or it isn’t relevant to their lives. In no way does she regret the toll growing-up takes on her readership. In fact, Cooper proudly shares letters she has received from young readers. She also talks about how adults have shared how much the books meant to them when they were young.
However, Susan Cooper’s ideas don’t merely pertain to the younger generation’s issues. After discussing the impact of modern religion on the acceptance of her stories, Cooper stated, “I am a storyteller. I tell stories to unriddle the world.” She ended with talking about 9/11 and related it to fantasy world, where good triumphs over evil, “But in real life, things go on, and on, and on.” It is not as simple as us and them, the line is fuzzy. Yet, at times, Coopers’ books do not embody her characterization of fantasy, but rather the real world, something she is the first to acknowledge. When a white horseman comes to save the day from a black horseman, it turns out the white one is questionably evil as well, blurring the lines of morality.
Cooper was a riveting speaker and it is obvious she has a great deal of knowledge about the fantasy genre. She lacks modesty to a point, which is surprising, but mostly because in this day we are not used to confident, smart women who are not afraid to speak boldly about the world. Cooper’s confidence is deserved, as she is a leader in her genre and an excellent (and very quotable) speaker.
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